11 hurt after gunmen storm Save the Children office in Afghanistan

Afghan national police officers.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Gunmen stormed the office of Save the Children in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, on Wednesday morning, and are still holed up in the building, sporadically exchanging gunfire with police.

At least 11 people have been injured so far, The Guardian reports. A provincial government spokesman said a suicide attacker detonated a car bomb in front of the entrance to Save the Children's compound, and a group of armed men then made their way inside. There are other international aid agencies and government offices in the area, and police are unsure if the attackers specifically targeted Save the Children, which gives local kids access to education and health care.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Mohammad Amin told AFP he was inside the compound when he heard "a big blast." After he ran for cover, he saw "a gunman hitting the main gate with an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) to enter the compound. I jumped out of the window." Over the weekend, Taliban militants attacked a luxury hotel in Kabul, killing 22 people. No one has taken responsibility for the Save the Children attack, but both the Taliban and Islamic State are active in the area.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.